Text Assignment 2

Object: To compare and contrast the environmentalist, illegal immigration, and pro-life movement

Environmentalism is more than about saving the whales or forests; it is about the “exhaustion of materials which result from a high-growth, energy-consuming and environmentally-damaging way of life” and challenging the success of the industrial society (Goodwin & Jasper, 2009, p. 75). Environmentalists come from different groups of people, but the most upfront activist groups want selective production and commerce for preservation sake; which can conflict with the average person’s view of growth and reward they are seeking.

Environmentalists often use the future of our children as ammunition; along with the urgency of time. They argue that time is of the essence to accomplish the goals they set forth because time is running out and the earth is in danger. They argue that the lives of our children will be in danger and will be negatively affected if action is not taken right away. This urgency for action is similar to the anti-immigration movement because in the immigration movement people are warned that if nothing is done about the takeover of illegal immigrants, that crime, housing, jobs, hospitals and the well being of all Americans are in jeopardy. Both movements produce doomsday type scenarios if compliance is not given.

Anti-immigration activists use fear mongering to get the average middle class to take notice and take action. The reason both groups utilize the ploy of urgency and fear as tools to promote their cause is because it is effective. Every American is protective of their family’s livelihood, health, opportunity and putting food on the table; especially middle class American’s who fill the service, and welfare sectors.

One area of contrast between the two groups is that environmentalist’s attack “industrial capitalism” due to the damage they cause the earth (Goodwin & Jasper, 2009, p. 78) while oftentimes the capitalist industry benefits from the use of cheap labor provided by illegal immigrants and the illegal immigrants, along with their families back home, benefit from money earned from a capitalist society. Immigrants are in need of a strong capitalist society to provide jobs. It has been proven over and over that illegal immigrants are hired for significantly lower wages; this ultimately increases the profits of the capitalist which in turns provides more jobs for immigrants. Unfortunately, this reality eliminates middle class jobs for legal Americans with higher wages.

When it comes to pro-life, it is a bit harder to compare and contrast because the ideology behind it does not meld within the other two on the surface. Pro-lifers are die hard activists who have their mind made up; and are often tied to deep rooted religious beliefs or the traditional nuclear family. Many believe that the purpose of sex is to procreate; so why would one opt for abortion? It is unimaginable to a pro-life activist that any other position would be taken by another person. This may differ from the environmentalist and the anti-immigrant activist because these two promote fear and danger, while the pro-life activist promotes value and human worth. The one area of possible commonality is oppression. Pro life activists argue that abortion is oppressive to both men and women; whereas environmentalists argue that depleting the environment of its natural, rich resources is oppressive to the earth and eventually the human race.